Sugar Coated Poison
by The Young and Free Dragon
Summary: Many relationships are budding around the town, and while violence is still a factor, you might call them happy. But When a fight between Cuddles and Giggles becomes a war, everyone else will be sucked in as well. Rating may rise for future chapters.
1. Prologue: A Little to the Left

**I do not own the songs used. **

SUGAR COATED POISON

BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON

Die Liebe ist ein wildes Tier  
Sie atmet dich sie sucht nach dir  
Nistet auf gebrochenen Herzen  
Geht auf Jagd bei Kiss und Kerzen

(Love is a wild animal  
It breathes you, it looks for you  
It nests upon broken hearts  
and goes hunting when there are kisses and candles)

-_Amour _by Rammstein

PROLOGUE: A LITTLE TO THE LEFT, RIGHT NEXT TO THE LUNGS

The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun  
When you read my mind

-_Read My Mind _by the Killers

Flaky sat nervously next to Flippy. Her paws were rubbing together in anxiety as her feet rubbed themselves raw against the leather of Mole's car. Mole had allowed Flippy to borrow it to take Flaky, Cuddles, and Giggles to a movie they wanted to see. She had seen the way Cuddles and Giggles sat so close during the movie and the small glancing blow Cuddles lips gave Giggles as they stepped outside. Now they were curled up in the back seat, asleep as too lovers might who weren't in a sexual relationship. Or they could be, Flaky didn't know and she got jittery every time they got so close together.

She was a bit queasy about romance. Not that it made her sick, it was a beautiful thing, but she hated to be reminded of what she had never had and never would. It always made her feel so alone in the world and now, sitting up at night with Flippy, in a car, looking at the stars was scary and made her feel like she was going to vomit. Flippy was very nice and everything but his war flash backs made her very jittery around him. She was worried at this moment that a falling star might remind him of mortar fire, or perhaps the smashed fly on the window might remind him of the carnage he had left behind and in his wake.

She knew it was not his fault, but the violent killings he pulled on her and her friends made her have nightmares. She still dreamed about the skiing incident with Disco Bear, and Flippy had caused her death many more times than that. Despite the fact that she regenerated the next day and felt no pain from the attacks or accidents except a small ache in her spine that was the burden of anxiety, she was still frightened. The burden she carried deep within her spine (which had probably been ripped out more than once) was the stress of knowing that this was going to happen again. While she liked living, she sometimes wished it would just end so she would never have to feel pain again.

She looked over at Flippy with her eyes that constantly searched for danger. The danger that always came up behind her and violently tore her apart. Something she never spotted in time. Flippy was lounging back, looking at the stars, his eyes shining as the dots of light looked back down on him. His hands were behind his head and she could see no concealment of weapons. But Flippy could use any object nearby and if not, use her own body to kill her. She suddenly had a vision of him beating her with her own severed arms, those yellow-green eyes shining with evil, and the sharp teeth bared as always though, admittedly, this came to Flaky as a bit sexy, not including the part of her severed arms. It was a silly vision, and a silly thought, but not unlikely.

His eyes slowly strayed away from the stars and fell to her eyes. She chuckled a little, nervously and then quickly averted her gaze out her window. She wondered if Evil had seen her, or if it had been Flippy, the real Flippy? No his eyes weren't those savage gleaming ovals of wild, strange beauty, and his teeth were not knives ready to sink into her flesh, but she could never tell when the real Flippy was thinking, and when Evil was thinking. Evil was in there, and so maybe he was not far away. Maybe he spoke to Flippy. Told him to murder her again, and then suddenly he would come out of the influence and maybe… cry because of what he had done to her?

Suddenly the sound of rustling made her stiffen in fear, her eyes widened. Cuddles may have snored like a hog but he only gave a slight twitch and nothing more to mark his stirring. Giggles was breathing quietly. Slow, deep breaths that showed she was asleep. That meant that only one person could be stirring and he was right beside her. She waited for his hand to rip through her flesh, dragging out strings of intestines. Or maybe a tire iron to come smashing through her skull, whatever happened it was sure to leave a stink in the air, and Flippy covered in blood and gore.

And then she felt his touch. It was warm but it made her spine strain as it tried to erect even further. She thought it might crack as the strain of horror and fear took her muscles and made them squeeze the bones. But she felt no fingers to whatever was touching her and it was covered in cloth. His arm. It was sliding over her shoulders. Perhaps now that arm would move around her delicate throat and pull her toward his body. There he would crush her against him, his arm closing off her veins, her air. And then he would squeeze until the blood pressure became so great that her head would explode, all the while, Evil would be laughing insanely.

And slowly he was pulling her toward himself, making the movements ever so antagonizing. Her blood was pumping, she was stone still and now her red spines touched his coat, pressing against the small chest, which was small in frame but held the power to break her bones with less than a stirring of the arm. Then his paw took her left paw, keeping her with her back turned toward him and she felt his soft warm breath against her neck.

"I've been talking to Petunia." He whispered.

She opened her mouth to say something but only a little squeak erupted, something that was a mixture of fear and hot emotion for the bear. Something maybe close to arousal was escaping her body in sweat and she felt so close to Flippy at the moment.

"She's been telling me," His thumb was moving in circles across the top of her paw. Somehow this felt relaxing and made her ease a little bit, although she was still shaking. "That you're very scared of me… of the things… Evil does to you and the others. I understand that he… frightens you more than anything else you can imagine…"

Even if she could speak, she couldn't have replied to this. Whatever emotion was behind this, he was causing her heart to clench and her adrenaline to pump.

"She's always told me so much about you… so many things I never knew…" he continued, only an inch from her neck.

His voice was soft and soothing and yet terrifyingly a mix between what she thought was Flippy's voice, and what was Evil's voice.

"I understand how scared you are… but please…" He whined into her ear. "Let me have this one moment with you… and neither Flippys will ever bother you again."

It was out now. Or maybe not. She really wasn't sure. What he said brought many possibilities to her mind, those she hoped for and those she thought were more likely. She really did like Flippy when he was himself. She didn't blame him for what Evil did but she couldn't help but be afraid of him. She gulped once and slightly nodded.

He squeezed her paw tightly and then turned her head and upper body toward him. She saw pure passion in his eyes as they shone and reflected her in them. Then she suddenly realized he was crying as he took her mouth in his. Her eyes were wide and she couldn't help but panic a little. She stiffened and her paw clenched tightly. He gave her paw another comforting squeeze and his paw on her shoulders began to stroke her spines in a loving way she could only dream of. She felt his soft fingers treading up her spines all the way to the tip and back, leaving the tingle of his want to calm her and show her he meant no harm, but only to love her. Something slick became apparent to her as he continued to stroke them, and she realized it was blood, leaving from his fingers as he comforted her, and she could feel his other paw twitch in pain. But he did not stop, and she could feel a few of his tears roll against her cheeks as he continued to kiss her, his tongue rubbing around her mouth, and the hot taste of his saliva bore down into her mind.

Something along the lines of bliss came about this, and her eyes finally closed. She felt now that she could learn to deal with Evil, if that meant she could love Flippy. She was unaware of Cuddles smiling at her and Flippy, or the trickle of blood down the seat from the gaping hole in his stomach.

**I assure you, this will make sense the future of the story. Please review.**


	2. Chapter 1: Thin Lines

**Okay this is also the first chapter to "Shoot First, but Save His Mouth for Questioning!". This is because the plot has become wide ranged, so I'm tying this story in to the first, so that all events can be explained while the story not being extremely long. This deals with the fight between Cuddles and Giggles more than the murders but once again, it does tie.**

SUGAR COATED POISON

BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON

Amour Amour  
Alle wollen nur dich zähmen  
Amour Amour am Ende  
gefangen zwischen deinen Zähnen

(Amour Amour  
Everyone just wants to tame you  
Amour Amour in the end  
caught between your teeth)

-_Amour _by Rammstein

* * *

CHAPTER ONE: THIN LINES

Sie sagen zu mir  
schließ auf diese Tür  
die Neugier wird zum Schrei  
was wohl dahinter sei

(They tell me  
unlock this door  
curiosity becomes a scream  
what could be behind it)

-_Klavier _by Rammstein

Cuddles sat on the ground looking down at a puzzle he was working on. He and Giggles were in "Hell's Playground", and trying to enjoy their Sunday, though they were very bored. Giggles was looking at the clouds, one hand messing around with the ear of Cuddles' left bunny slipper.

"How was your time last night?" Giggles asked mildly.

Cuddles stomach turned a little. Though Giggles liked him, she never trusted him completely for flirting with another girl one Saturday night while she was gone last year. The initial shock had ended with her running into the street and crying, only to be hit by a bus. Seconds later, Cuddles was nailed in the head by Mole, who was golfing and smashed the poor rabbit's skull in with his club.

"Fine. Same as always."

"I see…" She said with distrust on the tip of her tongue.

He sighed. "Flippy and I went to the disco with Bear and hung out a bit."

"Anything else?"

"We stopped by Lumpy's afterward."

She sighed heavily with disdain. She disliked Lumpy on a cellular level and would never let Cuddles hang out with him in front of her eyes. She still hated that he did things with Lumpy but she had decided that Cuddles was in control of his life… whenever she wasn't around. But when it came to the matter of the flirt, it had never been solved. He had comforted her at the time of it, she would now kiss him on the cheek as she always did, but she'd never said she'd forgiven him and obviously hadn't.

"I take it that's why you weren't on the phone at 11'o'clock?"

"He… accidentally…" Cuddles stuttered.

"Killed you with a firecracker. I went over to see why the fire department was over there."

"Y-yeah…"

"He's in jail for two months for bunny slaughter."

"I know."

"He probably killed that guy last night."

"What?"

"Some guy got killed last night. It looked like murder and also, the guy hasn't regenerated."

"Creepy… dying is bad enough but if we didn't come back…"

"I know…" She said, and then suddenly sat up looking at the side of the puzzle.

With one quick motion, she brushed the puzzle pieces aside, destroying what Cuddles had managed to fit together.

"Hey!" He cried. "What the heck?"

"Where's my special bow?" She cried.

"Your what?"

"I put that bow my mother gave me at the side of your puzzle remember! It's gone!"

"Well maybe you just left it at home-…"

"I've got to find it!" She cried, running off, smacking him in the face with her tail as she ran away.

* * *

Giggles room was a mess after she had torn it apart, looking for her bow. Her mother had left to go to the store, and it was getting dark. Giggles felt alone in the house and was close to tears. She had examined everyone who was capable of stealing something. Everyone she didn't like who would do such a thing. It had taken hours of interrogation until Lumpy accidentally severed his own throat with his nail file. She would attack him more tomorrow.

But truthfully, she knew he didn't do it. She just had a gut feeling that said he didn't. Her mind was racing over every possibility of anyone who would take it, and it finally came down to those she had come in contact with today. She had only met Petunia at the outside of the store, but she had been killed by a motorcycle driven by Mole. She was still feeling the trauma of the incident but all the violent deaths that took place here, and the fact that her friends who regenerate the next day numbed her to the idea.

But now it came down to the only person she had been in contact with today and her mind was unsure already. She kept telling herself that Cuddles would never do something like that to her. Of course he had gone and flirted with another girl one night but it had been nothing major, only a light peck on the lips, and she had burst in. But still… could she trust him? What proof did she have that he wouldn't do something like this?

Suddenly the phone rang. She took a few deep breaths to keep from crying and answered it.

"Hey Giggles?" Cuddles voice said. "I was wondering how your search was coming?"

"I… I still haven't found it."

"I checked around the meadow but didn't find anything."

"That's okay… I checked there at least fifteen times… thanks… honey…"

"I also checked the store where Petunia got killed. Nobody in the store knew anything about it-…."

"I already check Petunia's body parts. She didn't have it."

"I wasn't saying she would've taken it. She would be one of the last people I'd would expect."

"Well… ha ha," She laughed nervously. _I bet I am talking to the thief. _"She makes jokes of things like that sometimes…"

"No she doesn't."

"Oh she does… she just doesn't with her guy friends, you know? G-girl thing." She stammered, about to burst in anger but wanting to address it lightly so maybe guilt would take him down and make him give it back!

"I've never seen her do it." He said.

_ You filthy little brat! How can you act suspicious of me? You're the one who took-… Okay give him some slack on his crime. You know that there's a good person inside, despite his bad behavior… I'll bet he gets the influence from Lumpy…_

"She does, just trust me."

"…Okay…"

"Anyway, have you gotten clues or leads?"

"Not really."

"I'm so worried it could be anyone of our group!"

The group she mentioned was just the close bond between her, Cuddles, Toothy, and Flaky. They had formed this over time. But now the even closer bond between her and Cuddles was at stake because of his actions.

"I doubt that," He replied. "Toothy and Flaky are not really the sort to do such things."

"Well the whole group is at question!" She laughed nervously. "But I'm pretty sure Flaky didn't do it. She's too shy." She paused for a few moments. "Did you hear that Toothy got killed this morning at One by Flippy's rampage? I feel sorry for-…"

"Gee, inspector," Cuddles voice came through the receiver; it was lined with sarcastic anger, and betrayal. _What the-…? _"If… Flaky didn't do it… and… Toothy didn't do it… I wonder who you could suspect." He drew it out in showing her at how mad he was.

She suddenly began to wonder about her conclusion. Maybe… he had always been honest since that one time… maybe she could take his word.

"I'm not accusing you." She said defensively.

"Oh sure, skank."

"Hey! You have no right to call me dirty words like that!" She yelled, anger rising in her again.

"Screw you, you called me a thief."

"Hey! Just say you didn't take it, and I'll totally believe you."

"I shouldn't _have _to say I didn't take it."

"Look just promise you didn't take it, and we can be done with this!"

"Try this; go to hell Giggles."

"Hey! Calm down alright, it's not like it's a capital insult and besides how can I trust you after what happened last year?"

"Oh come on!" He shouted. "I am sick and tired of this! You either forgive me for what happened, or you don't, but you can't keep throwing that in my face!" And the phone clicked.

She sat silent for a moment, her teeth were biting into her lower lip and it was quivering. Finally tears came and she didn't force them back.


	3. Chapter 2: Emotional Brothel

**Here you will find the story building on the tension between Cuddles and Giggles and more clues to the coming storm. Please enjoy. **

SUGAR COATED POISON

BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON

Saugt sich fest an deinen Lippen  
Gräbt sich Gänge durch die Rippen  
Lässt sich fallen weich wie Schnee  
Erst wird es heiß dann kalt am Ende tut es

It sucks tightly on your lips  
and digs tunnels through your ribs  
It drops softly like snow  
First it gets hot then cold in the end it hurts

-_Amour _by Rammstein

* * *

CHAPTER TWO: EMOTIONAL BROTHEL

Everything has been said before

Nothing left to say anymore

When it's all the same

You could ask for it by name

-_This is the New Shit _by Marilyn Manson

In Petunia's house, Giggles sat cuddled up to Petunia, sniffling after a long discussion about last night's events. The little Chipmunk clung to the skunk as a baby would cling to its mother, and had no intention of letting go. With her mothering touch, Petunia traced her paw down Giggles' fur, smoothing down the ravaged fur of the poor girl, emotional traumatized to an extent neither quite understood. Flaky sat across from them, her lip quivering as she tried not to cry. She had been touched by the story of the rabbit and the chipmunk, and watching Giggles cry was making it hard for her to keep her head. Petunia reached out with her free paw and took Flaky's, to try and comfort her.

"How can he do this to me?" Giggles wailed. "He's my boyfriend!"

"Giggles," Petunia sighed. "You have to accept that Cuddles won't always take your side. He has a life of his own, no matter how much he may like you."

Giggles sniffled for a few moments. "I can accept that… but I can't accept that he stole from me and then yelled at me like he did!"

She began sobbing again. Flaky moved a bit closer, her body shaking all over as she tried to decide the proper moment to release the secret she was harboring and to cry.

"You don't know that he stole from you." Petunia cooed.

"But he had to! Who else could have?"

"Giggles, Cuddles is a good seed. Despite what happened last year… he is good. He likes you a lot, and he just feels betrayed that you could think he would do that."

"But he's being so unreasonable!" Giggles cried.

"Everyone is unreasonable at times," Petunia said, slightly noticing how that comment quivered Flaky's small frame like a gun shot. "No he shouldn't have called you the things he did, but I promise you that he does like you, and really does care despite how he sounds." She didn't go as far as to say loved, because she wasn't sure how Giggles would react to that.

"Giggles…" Flaky squeaked.

"He called me a skank!" Giggles cried, ignoring Flaky's small voice. "I know I haven't always been faithful to him either but-… but-… I'm just not a skank! I got lonely when he wasn't around! Is that so wrong?"

"No Giggles but-…" Petunia began.

"And I never kissed anybody on the lips! Like that girl he did last year! She's the skank, not me!"

"Giggles!" Petunia shouted, trying to get her attention as the Chipmunk sobbed. "Get a hold of yourself!" Now much more calmly. "It's not wrong that you got lonely, but it was still unfaithful to Cuddles. It was just as wrong as what he did to you, no matter how far he went with the girl-…"

"Giggles… Petunia…?" Flaky tried to begin again, shaking like she had a raging fever.

"In a moment Flaky," Petunia said, without looking at the poor porcupine. "You are not a skank, and you're not a bad person but you need to fix this with Cuddles and the only way to do that is to stay faithful and make sure he stays faithful-…"

Suddenly, Flaky exploded in bouts of sobbing. The other two girls looked over at her in confusion.

"Oh! Oh Giggles! I'm so sorry!" She screamed, shuttering with each ravaging sob. "I've ruined your life!"

"W-what are you talking about?" Giggles asked, coming out of shock and moving closer to put an arm over Flaky's shoulders.

"C-Cuddles! I… I…" She interrupted herself with sobbing and had to be comforted by the two other girls for a few minutes before continuing. "I… I've ruined him…!"

"I don't understand." Giggles said.

"L-last night," Flaky said, calming down a little to get the truth out before she had a heart attack. "I guess… after he called you… h-he came over to my house…"

"W-what did he do to you, Flaky?" Giggles stammered in disbelief.

"No! God, it was me! He acted so n-nice… we were only together as friends! And… I betrayed you! I'm so sorry! Oh my God, I'm so sorry!"

"Flaky, you haven't betrayed me," Giggles cooed, trying to get Flaky to tell everything. "Just tell me what happened."

"W-well, first we watched a TV show we both liked… and then we were talking about it… it was a soap opera… He said all these things about it that were… s-so true, and said that he didn't care if the other guys thought he was a wimp for watching it… that he liked it because it showed the t-true love of life…" She had to be comforted after this bout and then continued. "A-and then he said I looked like one of the girls on the show… and I said that no she was so pretty and I was so ugly… and… and then he started telling me that I was beautiful, and that he would count himself lucky to be with me… and he talked about how nice I was… and said things that were so sweet… I just felt like I was in love with him… then… then I…"

She began crying again, unable to hold back the tears for another second. Petunia and Giggles were in shock, and trying to coax more of the story out of the emotional traumatized girl.

"And… I just felt like I was in love with him… and… and he just kept talking about all these wonderful things about me… oh God, they were such lies! It was just weakness! F-Flippy got killed by… Mole… I was so sad afterward… even though he was going to come back… and I'm just so horrible…" She began crying so brutally that it was hard to understand her. "They were lies! What I did proves it… I-… I knew he was with you Giggles! And I didn't know about the fight! But even if I had I wouldn't have kissed him! But I did! Oh God damn me for that! And I betrayed Flippy! Fl-… Flippy… my Flippy…"

Giggles hugged the porcupine tightly as the poor thing gripped on to her without any intention of letting go as the chipmunk had to the skunk only minutes before. Her body was shaking so much that Giggles thought she might die of the stress she was putting on herself. Petunia helped Giggles to calm her down and after what seemed long hours of crying, she finally fell to a whimpering form with her head in Giggles' lap, tears still running down her cheeks. Giggles continually told her that she was not mad and that the porcupine was a good person, and that she wasn't going to hell, and she wasn't a skank or a whore or any of the other insults she called herself. Giggles wasn't really sure who to blame for any of this but she knew that this ravaged creature definitely was not a suspect.

* * *

Cuddles tossed Toothy the tennis ball and he tossed it back. This is what they had been doing for the past thirty minutes and this was what they intended to do for the next hour or so.

"What'd you do last night?" Toothy asked, as the ball thumped into his glove and he threw it back with great power for his size.

"Nothing much." Cuddles replied, backing up a little and catching it. He threw it back, making the other go a little farther back to catch it.

"Nothing at all?"

"Not really." Cuddles replied, his eyes were trained on Toothy but they were blank and hollow.

"What about Giggles' bow?"

"No idea." He replied.

"She hasn't found it?"

"No idea." He repeated, catching the ball and tossing it high.

"You'd be the first to know," Toothy replied, moving forward to catch it. "Considering she's your girlfriend."

"What gave you that idea?" Cuddles asked mildly, catching a fast ball from his close friend.

"You may have only agreed when she asked you, and not told anyone else but she can't keep her hands off you." Toothy said, jumping to catch the next ball at him.

"She's found it easy of late." He replied.

"Having problems with her?"

"You could say that."

"Why aren't you freaking out?"

"I will once it gets worse."

As Toothy took the ball into his throwing hand he threw a fast ball that Cuddles didn't expect. The ball hit him straight on in the face. He fell backwards with a cry. Toothy moved forward and stood over the rabbit who was cradling his nose, blood seeping between his small fingers. Toothy picked up the ball.

"You need to start panicking now."

"Was that necessary?" Cuddles asked, glaring up at Toothy.

"Tell me what happened and we'll see." Toothy replied.

"Toothy," Cuddles sighed, getting up and wiping the blood from his small heart-shaped nose. "I don't need help. I'm under control."

"Flaky has already told me what went on between you two last night. I want to know why she says this will ruin you for Giggles."

"Has she told Flippy yet?" Cuddles asked solemnly.

"No, the poor thing would have a heart attack if she did." Toothy replied crossing his arms, like a father trying to get his son to admit to misbehavior in school.

"Well, it won't be a heart attack that kills her or me if Flippy finds out." Cuddles sighed, turning and walking down the meadow. Toothy followed.

"Why? Yeah, Evil is in there but I doubt _betrayal_ would remind him of his time in war… actually… maybe you're right."

"Let's get one thing straight right now." Cuddles said, stopping and turning to the beaver. His arms were crossed, his eyes glaring and his cheeks were bright red. It was probably a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "There's no _betrayal _here. What happened last night was not Flaky's fault."

"Well, what do you call what you did last night and what happened in the _past_." Toothy replied, returning the look and arm-crossing.

"Damn!" Cuddles shouted, turning around and throwing up his arms. "Is _everyone _perfect, but me?"

"Cuddles, you're a better person than you think. But you need to get this fixed between you and Giggles instead of just letting it burn."

"Toothy, if I try, I'll only screw it up."

"It's already screwed up, so you can't leave it like that!"

Cuddles turned back to Toothy. His expression was hard to read as he looked at the beaver. Toothy kept his stern look on his face but made sure to let the fact that he understood shine through.

"And you can't burn yourself either," Toothy said more calmly. "That means; stop trying to seduce every girl you know, and leave whatever it is that Disco Bear sells you alone."

Cuddles' eyes narrowed. "Are you stalking me or something?"

"I know you went to Petunia's house this morning." Toothy replied, matter-of-factly.

"I guess she told you about that?"

"No but she was a bit shaky when she mentioned it, and she quickly changed the subject."

"And Disco Bear?"

"He's proud of what he sells. He just won't say what it is. I figure it's some drug he learned how to make from his 70's uncle."

"How clever of you."

"Will you stop acting like I'm your enemy?" Toothy cried.

Cuddles put his finger to Toothy's chest as he spoke to him, his eyes narrowed even more. But as Toothy looked into his friend's eyes, the rabbit was now looking very tired and highly stressed.

"Until you learn all the facts and stop judging me, then you're my friend."

"What are the facts?" Toothy asked, returning the look.

"First of all, I'm not burnt, not anymore. A lot of time passes between now and the Flaky incident. Second of all, I'm not _seducing _anyone."

"Then why are you acting the way you are to them?"

"I'm only telling them the truth," Cuddles replied crossly. "And besides, maybe I'm trying to feel better about myself, and you and Giggles aren't doing me any favors."

"Then why won't you fix this?"

"Because I didn't _do_ anything!" Cuddles shouted. "If that stupid little chipmunk won't trust me, and wants to make me feel guilty all the time, then I'm not doing any apologizing! It's as good as over between us."

Suddenly, a long pinpoint tore through the rabbit's chest. He was lifted up in the air as blood spilled from the wound and he screamed in pain. Whatever it was shook him a little bit, the sound of flesh being ground between whatever was holding him filled the meadow. Finally, as his screams began to die down and he went limp, the thing dropped him to the ground. As the mangled rabbit's blood began pooling around his twisted body, Mole stood there, with his litter bag and stick stuck inside of Cuddles. Blood was splattered across his clothes and body.

"Heavy trash today. You'd think someone couldn't get away with throwing something this big out." He said.

He dragged Cuddles' limp form to his side and pushed it into his bag, oblivious to the fact that he had just killed Cuddles. He waved the wrong way to Toothy and walked away, Cuddles' limp ears hanging out of the bag and crimson leaking and spreading across the bag. Toothy stood stunned and his mouth agape. While he was horrified by what had just happened, it was normal and he was recovering quickly. He began to wonder, as he wiped the blood from his body, if he would've gotten anything else out of Cuddles, and if what Mole had said was true.

* * *

**Anyway, hope you liked that chapter. If there are any more yummy reviews for my inner Nutty, then please post them.**


	4. Chapter 3: Sunshine in a Bag

**Ha, seems as though everyone's sympathy's going to Giggles. What do you guys think of Cuddles? Warning: song used contains a word some may find offensive for a T rated story.**

SUGAR COATED POISON

BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON

Amour Amour  
Alle wollen nur dich zähmen  
Amour Amour am Ende  
gefangen zwischen deinen Zähnen

(Amour Amour  
Everyone just wants to tame you  
Amour Amour in the end  
caught between your teeth)

-_Amour _by Rammstein

* * *

CHAPTER THREE: SUNSHINE IN A BAG

I didn't wanna hurt you, baby

I didn't wanna hurt you

I didn't wanna hurt you, baby

But you're pretty when you cry

I didn't wanna fuck you, baby

I didn't wanna fuck you

I didn't wanna fuck you, baby

But you're pretty when your mine

-_Pretty When You Cry _by VAST

Toothy crossed his arms and looked at Handy, an action which he quickly dropped considering as this may come as an insult to his friend.

"Well, what do you think?" The beaver asked.

"I don't know…" Handy replied slowly, twiddling his nubs thoughtfully. "Petunia and I have kind of grown apart since the whole… getting sewed together thing."

"I don't care about that; I just need you to ask her what happened this morning. If she gets shaky, pry at it until she tells you."

"What makes you so sure Cuddles wasn't messing with you when he said that?" Handy asked.

"Cuddles isn't in any position to lie," Toothy said, though the thought had crossed his mind. "Plus, why would he?"

"Well, Cuddles has at least a small ego." Handy said, tilting his head. "He's more of your friend than mine. Don't try to defend him if you want to help him."

"Well I need you to be sure." Toothy sighed.

"Well, I guess I can." Handy replied, with a shrug.

"Thanks." Toothy smiled.

"What are you going to do about this whole thing?" Handy asked.

"Well first of all, I need you to keep quiet about it. I don't think it would help the situation if everyone knew."

"I concur." The other nodded.

"But at this moment, I'm going to see if I can get some of whatever it is that Disco Bear sells and find out what it is."

"It's some kind of drug isn't it?" Handy asked.

"I think so, but we have to know everything, and I don't think Cuddles will tell me what it is."

"Speaking of which, where is he now?"

"Dead. I think tomorrow he'll head toward Pop and Cub's. Call it a hunch." Toothy sighed.

"Why would he be going there?"

"He goes there when he's depressed. He's actually very close to the two of them. I've been with him once and he was like a big brother to Cub and an old friend to Pop."

"I never knew that," Handy mused. "Well maybe they can calm him down."

"They usually can."

"I wonder if he'll tell them about his problems."

"He confides in Pop pretty deeply, so hopefully."

"Do you think Pop will take his side?"

"Maybe."

"Have you taken his side?" Handy asked, his eyes searching Toothy's for a true answer.

Toothy thought for a good three or four minutes before sighing and shrugging.

"I don't know. I feel like, since he's my friend, that it's my duty to, but… I don't know if he's right. How about you?"

"Well… I'm kind of torn here… I think my vote is with Cuddles though. I don't really think he has anything to apologize about."

"Why's that?" Toothy queered.

"Well, look at the facts. He's her boyfriend and she went and betrayed him by calling him a thief."

"What about what happened last year?"

"I don't see what the big deal is. He got weak, and got caught. Do we need to kill him over it? Besides, Giggles has been unfaithful as well. I begin to question weather they belong together."

"I do too, but Giggles does have a little bit of my sympathy. He was very mean to her. And that whole thing happened with Flaky."

"You think it was his fault?"

"I wasn't there."

"But you are accusing him." Handy persisted, a bit of defense in his voice.

"I said I wasn't there," Toothy said. "I don't know whose fault it was."

"Just keep an open mind," Handy replied. "Maybe under that mousy exterior, Flaky's a lustful time bomb."

"I doubt that." Toothy said. "But I will consider it."

This was a lie. He wasn't even going to think about Flaky as a suspect. But he didn't want to fight with Handy, no matter how wrong he thought his friend was.

"Hey, check it out." Handy said suddenly, pointing with one of his nubs.

Giggles was walking down the street with Petunia. The expression on her face was unreadable.

* * *

Giggles reached into the fold of fur at her right hip that served as her pocket and pulled out a few coins. She jiggled these together in her paw as they made their way down the street. Her eyes were still wet but she was not crying.

"What are you going to spend that money on?" Petunia asked.

"I saw Cuddles buy some of that stuff from Disco Bear, I'm going to get me some."

"You can't take drugs!" Petunia cried in shock.

"Nobody ever said it was drugs." Giggles replied calmly.

"What else could it be?"

"We'll find out." Giggles replied, ringing the doorbell on the large house in which Disco Bear lived.

There was a small pause and the door opened. Disco music was playing inside and the bear stood before them. When he saw the two girls, he put on his annoying suave smile and lent against the door.

"Well," He said in his deep voice. "What can I do for you ladies?"

"You can't do anything _for _us." Petunia spat.

"Be cool, Mama." Disco bear replied, impervious to the comment. "What can I do for you?" The last question was directed at Giggles.

Giggles held out her palm full of money. "I would like to purchase some of your "secret stuff"."

Disco Bear's smile widened and stepped out of the way of his door, his arm directed inward into his bachelor pad.

"Ah, please come in." He said, smiling at them as they walked in.

Petunia scowled but Giggles did her signature giggle, as though this were said by some boy she liked. He smiled wider at this, if that was possible while maintaining the suave curt to the crook of the lip.

He closed the door and danced into his kitchen. He turned as he went in, his head sticking around the corner.

"Be back in a minute, babes." He said, disappearing out of sight.

"You aren't seriously thinking about doing this are you?" Petunia scolded Giggles when they were alone.

"I am thank you." Giggles replied.

"You're not seriously going to take drugs from that freak?"

"Be nice." Giggles said defensively.

Petunia could feel the strange pit in her stomach that grew when she knew this was about to get worse. Disco Bear returned with a small paper bag that was weighted down with something. He handed it to Giggles and took her money, slipping into the open flap of his golden jacket. Giggles smiled at him widely.

"Thanks." She said.

"No problem, but honey, don't open that until you get home. For me, a'right?" He said, patting her paws which were clutched around the opening of the bag.

"Sure thing." She replied, her eyes, half lidded. It was as though she was enjoying this.

"But I have to ask," the bear said. "What got you interested in old Disco's recipe? Was it Cuddles?"

Giggles flinched at the mention of the rabbit. Petunia could tell she was fighting back tears but she thought Giggles deserved it for how she was acting at the moment.

"Not exactly," Giggles said, regaining her composure as she continued and leaning a little closer to Disco Bear. "I just heard it can make you happy on a rainy day."

"I can do that, baby." He replied, leaning a little closer as well.

"I'll keep that in mind." She replied, kissing his cheek. Petunia bit down on her tongue so hard, she could feel it bleeding. "But we have to go."

"I'll be here when you need me." He replied smiling.

He walked them to the door and opened it for them. Petunia glared at Disco Bear, while Giggles waved and batted her eyelashes. When he closed the door, Petunia grabbed Giggles and shook her.

"Are you out of your freaking mind?" She cried.

Giggles broke free, glaring at Petunia.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She said defensively.

"I'm talking about throwing yourself at that greasy pervert!" Petunia yelled.

"I merely thanked him." Giggles denied, and began walking away.

"You can't betray Cuddles!" Petunia shouted after her.

"Something not shown in his actions." She said back and rounded a corner.

Petunia almost followed.

* * *

Giggles approached Handy and Toothy. They turned as she came over, with a suave smile they swore they had seen on Disco Bear more than once.

"Where's Cuddles?" She asked.

Toothy and Handy looked at each other in surprise and then at her.

"Uh, he was… um… killed by Mole not long ago… I'm sorry." Toothy said slowly.

A small sliver of a smile crept across her face for a moment and then disappeared.

"He'll be back in the morning, though…" Toothy said almost warningly.

"It's a long time until then." Giggles said, as that smile passed again and she waved goodbye.

* * *

Ironically enough, it was a stormy night. The rain was pounding Petunia's window, as she and Flaky sat watching TV. The clock read: 8:00 PM, but it felt like midnight. Flaky had insisted upon staying away from her favorite soap opera, and now they sat watching a horror movie. If the irony got any thicker, Petunia thought she might suffocate. Flaky was cuddled up to her, not wanting to watch, but taking a peak every now and then. Though the movie was scary, and Petunia was feeling a little on edge, it didn't compare to the horror she felt right now at what was happening before her eyes.

She knew what was going to happen to Giggles. She knew what the little pink chipmunk would do. She knew that she was making a bad decision that she would regret. And yet Petunia could do nothing to alter the course of her friend. And nothing could prepare her for what she knew was coming. The best she could think of; was to drop by Disco Bear's house later and try to keep anything vaguely romantic from happening between the two. Well you couldn't call it romantic. Maybe fake lust. Giggles was only trying to get back at Cuddles and Disco Bear… well he was being himself mostly. Petunia was distraught at the events that were unfolding. She didn't believe Giggles should try to get back at Cuddles, and even if she did, this was definitely not the way to do it. She hoped that Giggles wasn't stupid enough to sell herself completely. Her lips were horribly enough; any further was material for considering a break of friendship.

Well maybe not that. Petunia wasn't sure she had the strength to do something like that, despite how mad she could be at Giggles. She sat up, flicking off the TV. Flaky looked up cautiously.

"I'm going to make sure Giggles doesn't do anything stupid. Do you want to come with me?" Petunia asked, standing up, Flaky still latched to her arm.

Flaky was reluctant to let go of her arm. "I… um… I dunno…" She said, still nervous from the movie. "Is it safe out there?"

"It's okay Flaky," Petunia said, helping her friend up off the couch and giving her a gentle hug. "It was just a movie. Completely fake."

"Still…" Flaky murmured, looking down at her feet in embarrassment.

"If it will make you feel any better, you can spend the night at my house," Petunia said. "You can stay here until I get back if you want."

"No, no… I mean well… I don't want to impose…"

"No, I'd love to have you."

"Well if I wouldn't be a burden, then yes… but I'd rather come with you…" She replied, looking up at Petunia.

"Sure, come on." Petunia said, taking her friend's hand and leading her out the door.

* * *

**Anyway, that's the next chapter. Please leave a review for my inner Nutty, and please look forward to an update.**


	5. Chapter 4: Understanding, Unforgiving

**Thanks for the reviews guys, hope you enjoy this chapter.**

SUGAR COATED POISON

BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON

Die Liebe ist ein wildes Tier  
Sie beißt und kratzt und tritt nach mir  
Hält mich mit tausend Armen fest  
Zerrt mich in ihr Liebesnest

(Love is a wild animal  
It bites and scratches and kicks towards me  
It holds me tightly with a thousand arms  
and drags me into its love nest)

-_Amour _by Rammstein

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR: UNDERSTANDING, UNFORGIVING

Pain, without love

Pain, can't get enough

Pain, I like it rough

'Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all

-_Pain _by Three Days Grace

* * *

Turn your back on nature

And nature will turn its back on you

* * *

Petunia and Flaky trudged down the street toward Disco Bear's house, one umbrella being all that shielded them from the raging elements. The rain was ripping about them, showing no mercy as they walked. As they neared the bus station, they saw two figures sitting in the shelter of the bench that was made for those who waited for transportation. As they came closer, they noticed it was Pop and Cuddles. Petunia placed her pointer finger to her lips as Flaky began to question the sight. She pulled Flaky into an alley right behind the two they were watching. They acted as though this was a strange thing to see, though in truth it was not. Though Cuddles was never much around Pop and Cub when they were in public, that didn't mean they couldn't sit together. But the buses had stopped running hours ago.

They saw that Pop was holding something in his paws, as was Cuddles. As they looked closer, they could tell Pop was holding the sleeping form of Cub, and Cuddles was holding a small paper bag. The bag looked as though it were about to fall apart, the wind and rain had soaked it clean through.

"I'm telling you, it's not going to do you any good." Pop said.

"I don't take it to do my health good." Cuddles said, his paws tightening around the bag.

"It's not doing your mental state any favors either," Pop said, his pipe bobbing up and down in his mouth. "Throw it away."

"You can say that while having that in your mouth?" Cuddles said, pointing to the pipe.

"That's different," Pop said without a hint of defense in his voice. "I'm not the one who's been in the hospital."

"We regenerate every day, what's the big deal?" Cuddles asked.

"First off, that stuff sticks with you. Whatever it is that Disco Bear makes it out of stays with you. You still have the scar from last time, and I'm tired of wiping your insides up off my floor." Flaky and Petunia looked at each other, unsure of weather Pop was serious or not. "Second, you don't need this stuff, especially at a time like this. You need to fix this thing with Giggles instead of f'ing yourself up."

A sliver of a smile graced Cuddles lips as he looked at his friend, who only returned a stern, but caring look.

"Dad, Mom says not to even hint at words like that." Cuddles said.

"Oh shut up." Pop said with a small smile, lightly punching Cuddles' arm.

But as soon as the smile appeared it was gone, and a solemn look crossed his face. He held out one hand, Cub cradled in the crook of his other arm.

"Give it to me." He said.

Cuddles looked down at the bag, and the two girls could see his paws shaking as he tightened his grip on the paper. But even at this show of defense, he quickly handed the bag to Pop. The bear stood and threw the bag down into the water that was running into the gutter. With a small kick, the wet, brown lump of paper went down into the blackness.

Pop looked over at Cuddles and placed a paw on the rabbit's shoulder. Cuddles stood and looked into Pop's eyes. The bear smiled even as both of them were being soaked by the rain. Cub opened his eyes and smiled at his father. He then looked to Cuddles and held out his left paw. Cuddles took the small bear's paw in his own, and smiled with a bittersweet sadness in his face.

"He's growing up so quickly." Cuddles murmured.

"Yes," Pop said with the same sadness in his voice. "His mother would be proud."

Cuddles looked up into Pop's eyes, his smile gone, replaced by a pitying look.

"Don't talk about her…" Cuddles murmured.

Pop kept his composure, although his smile was quivering a little, tears on the verge of his mature, warm eyes.

"She may not be here, but if I don't think and talk about her, she'll always be gone."

"But… but how? I just don't understand how you can stay happy after this… how can you keep on living?" Cuddles asked, his eyes on the verge of tears as well.

Pop patted his friend's shoulder. He lifted Cub up to his shoulder, where the little tyke wrapped his arms around his father's neck.

"I'm the worst father in the world," He said. "I was the worst husband in the world. But all the reason I need for living is right here."

He kissed his child's head. Cuddles stared at him for a long time before he smiled in the same way Pop did.

"I wasn't there… I wouldn't know." He replied. "But I know you're the best friend in the world."

After this, he hugged Pop and Cub tightly, a few tears escaping his eyes before they let go. Pop smiled at his friend and Cub smiled widely at Cuddles. The rabbit smiled at the little boy and kissed his forehead, right below his beanie.

"Well I need to get this youngster to bed," Pop said. "He missed his nap."

Cub yawned in reply and waved at Cuddles as Pop walked away, his mouth opened in a wide smile. Cuddles continued to smile at them and waved to them as they disappeared. As they finally were shrouded in darkness, his arms dropped to his sides and he looked down at the gutter quickly before sitting back down.

Petunia didn't know what to say, but as she looked down at Flaky, she saw her friend was crying silently. She reached down and gave the porcupine a gentle hug.

* * *

Cuddles disappeared in the shroud of rain, and Petunia led Flaky forward, her heart heavy. She felt so much compassion for Cuddles at this moment and now she felt that he wasn't a bad guy at all. She hated that her opinion of someone could be swayed with only one event, but she felt this was strong enough, something she at least should take in mind. They approached Disco Bear's house silent and knocked on the door. It was a long time before Disco Bear opened the door, a look of concern on his face.

Petunia was confused by this, expecting to see that suave, desiring look but instead his eyes brightened as though he'd found an answer to a hard equation.

"You're just who I need to see." He said. "I know you hate me… but would you come in for a moment?"

"Um… I guess." Petunia said, giving Flaky's hand a squeeze and leading her in.

Disco Bear didn't dance or even make any kind of move on her as he stood in the middle of the living room.

He turned and looked at her, and crossed his arms. Petunia noted that Giggles was no where to be found.

"Okay, what's the pink chipmunk's deal?" He asked.

"Giggles?"

"Yes… that's what she asked me to refer to her as." He said, his face twisted in a look that was so alien to Disco Bear's personality, that Petunia didn't know what to think it meant. "What's her deal?"

"What has she done?" Petunia asked.

"She's been all over me since five. I swear, she's never this friendly to me. What do I do to make her stop?"

"Well, well. Why would you want her to stop?" Petunia asked, putting a skeptical look on her face and crossing her arms.

"Look, I may act strong but truthfully, I want what anyone wants; a healthy relationship. She on the other hand is acting like… a well…"

"I get it," Petunia said, looking down at her feet and dropping her arms. She wasn't sure if Disco Bear was telling the truth, but his eyes said so, and he looked honest. She felt kind of bad about the way she had treated him in the past.

"And what about Cuddles?" Disco Bear asked.

"Giggles is fighting with him…" Petunia said slowly.

"Then that explains it," Disco Bear sighed, sadness feeling his face. "I hate being used."

"I'm sorry she's acting like this."

"It doesn't matter. I'll always be viewed to same way…" Disco Bear said, his shoulders slumped. "Cuddles will never speak to me again."

"What do you mean?" Petunia queered.

"You've never paid attention to me," Disco Bear said. "That's why you've never seen me talking to Cuddles. We go a few years back."

"I didn't know-…"

"How could you?" Disco Bear said.

"Is he your friend?"

"Not after this."

"Wait," Petunia said, the skeptic coming back momentarily. "Why do you sell him the drug if he's your friend. You must know what it does."

Disco Bear sighed sadly again. He seemed so different now, and she suddenly felt like giving him a hug.

"I never want to. But… it's hard to explain."

"Why do you even sell it?"

"I gotta make a living."

"That's not the way to do it."

"I'm not perfect."

"Yes but…" Petunia was cut off by the doorbell ringing.

Disco Bear sighed. "Tell her I'm not home."

"Then what would I be doing here?"

"Make something up." He said, going into the next room.

Petunia moved slowly to the door, followed by Flaky. She opened it, not surprised by who she saw, Giggles. The pink chipmunk was surprised to see her though.

"Petunia!" She said. "What're you doing here?"

"Not important. Go home, Giggles."

"I wanted to see Disco-…"

"Go away!" Petunia shouted. "He doesn't want to see you!"

Giggles was quite for a moment.

"What did you do to him-…?" She began but was stopped short by a smack across the face.

Petunia's eyes were glowing in rage and she grabbed Giggles roughly by the shoulder, shaking her.

"Cuddles was right about you!" She shouted. "You are a skank! You're using people, you're unfaithful to your boyfriend, and you accuse people you trust! What is wrong with you? What happened to the Giggles we know?"

Giggles was quite for a moment, staring at Petunia in shock, and then began tearing up, water rolling down her rain soaked face. She turned and was about to run off when she ran into someone. All three girls stared in surprise as they saw Cuddles standing there. Giggles backed away as though Cuddles was a vicious monster. He looked at all of them, his eyes soft toward his two friends, and then hard on his girlfriend.

"Is Disco Bear home?" He asked quietly.

"Yes." Petunia replied in the same low volume. "He's in the back."

"Thanks." Cuddles said.

He moved inside, pushing past Giggles before stopping. He turned and looked at her with mild interest, with disgust mingled in.

"By the way," He said, pulling something out of his pocket. "This is yours."

He placed it in Giggles' paws. She looked down at it, and then almost in surprise, looked up at him, her eyes full of confusion and sadness.

"So you did take it…" She said softly.

"No," He replied solemnly. "Cub was out there on the meadow that morning. He saw it and thought it was pretty. He took it while you had your back turned. He looked sorry when I told him who's it was…"

He didn't finish, eyeing her before walking away. Petunia and Flaky turned to Giggles, both showing many different expressions at once. Giggles only stared down at the bow before reaching up and taking her own off and looking at it. She seemed to be weighing both of them.

"Cuddles gave me this one…" She said, referring to the bow she held in her left paw, the one that had been on her head. "This became so much more than just the bow… I'd forgotten…"

She dropped the Cuddles bow at Petunia's feet, then placing the one her mother had given her on her head, walked away into the shroud of rain.

* * *

"There's something I need to tell you, man." Disco Bear said, his paws clasped behind him as though he were a small cub, about to confess to an act against his parents will.

"There's nothing that needs to be said." Cuddles replied, reaching down into his pocket.

"But it's about Giggles… it was… my fault. I was…"

"No," Cuddles said, pulling out something that jingled in his paw. He took one of Disco Bear's paws and placed the cold objects in his palm. "Nothing needs to be said."

Disco Bear looked down at his paw, and saw a small sum of coins. He looked up questioningly at Cuddles. The rabbit gave him a small scrap of paper.

"It's a tip to the lottery. That's the ticket that's going to win. I had a hint. Take it, and use it, so you'll never have to sell anything to anyone ever again, anything that you're not proud of that is."

"And the money?" Disco Bear asked, after he'd made his voice straighten, though a tear was rolling down his face.

"It's for that little key chain that has the two people dancing on it," Cuddles said with a small smile. "I know you like it. Now you can have it. You deserve it. One more thing."

He reached into his pocket one final time and brought out a small gold chain. He placed it in Disco Bear's paw.

"It was a birthday present from Giggles. I… I can't keep it anymore…" Cuddles said, his ears dropping. "Put the key chain on it. For me. I want someone who deserves it to get the use out of it."

He gave Disco Bear's shoulder a friendly squeeze, a weak smile crossing his sad face, and then turned and left. Disco Bear clutched the chain to his bare chest as more tears rolled down his face.

"This means more than you know, Cuddles." He whispered. Maybe it was something that didn't have to be said. Disco Bear, had passed the message through his gentle eyes.

* * *

**I hope you've enjoyed, please review.**


	6. Chapter 5: Sweating Bullets

**The next chapter my friends. A special thanks to "flakyxflippy" and "VioletsAreBlack" for their support.**

SUGAR COATED POISON

BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON

Frißt mich auf mit Haut und Haar  
und würgt mich wieder aus nach Tag und Jahr  
Läßt sich fallen weich wie Schnee  
Erst wird es heiß dann kalt am Ende tut es weh

(It devours me completely  
and retches me back out after many years  
It drops softly like snow  
First it gets hot then cold in the end it hurts)

-_Amour _by Rammstein

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE: SWEATING BULLETS

Let me enlighten you

This is how I pray

Living just isn't hard enough

Burn me alive inside

Living my life's not hard enough

Take everything away

-_Prayer _by Disturbed

"There's something I need to tell you, Petunia…" Maybe that's how it always begins. The words that hold mystic and yet end in some dark creation. This thought ran through Petunia's head as she looked at Flaky, but she had no proof it would be bad.

"Yes?" Petunia asked, hesitantly.

Flaky looked down at her feet. Her right one was rubbing her left, an action she did when she was nervous, and her hands were clasped tightly behind her back.

"I… I couldn't bear to tell Flippy what happened…" She murmured. "And… so… I left him a note…"

Petunia waited for a moment. She waited for Flaky to say that Flippy was on a mindless rampage, killing everything in sight. But Flaky never uttered a word.

"And…?" Petunia prompted.

"And so…" Flaky's eyes filled with tears. "What are we going to do? He's sure to flip!"

"Well Flaky…" Petunia said, taking her friend into her arms. "We may just have to hide until Evil goes away."

"But…" Flaky began crying hysterically now, as though she had remembered an awful memory. "But… but what if it… sticks?"

"What do you mean?" Petunia asked.

"One time…" Flaky said "… Flippy told me that he had flipped… and Evil stayed… somehow, nothing could snap him out of it… and that he killed everyone around him… it was right after the war…"

"How did he turn back?"

"A year of isolation before he moved here. He just remembers entering the town and suddenly snapping back. It took him a while to figure out who all he'd killed."

"Well… I'm sure he won't do it again-…" Petunia cut off, looking up sharply.

She heard a low, growling laughter coming from outside. The laughter was cruel and bitter, with pain right on the tip of it. Flaky cuddled her tightly, her eyes shut tight.

"D-don't let him get me, Petunia!" Flaky cried.

Petunia felt herself tearing up in fear as well. Her stomach was churning as she peaked out of the window of her house. There was Flippy, his body covered in splatters of blood, and his mouth was a twisted half grin, half scowl. But what caught her ears was the sound that was beginning to grow as Flippy neared. Not just the crying laugh, but a small screaming sound. Suddenly, with horrified realization; she could see that Flippy was dragging Cuddles' body behind him.

His blood splattered fingers were wrapped tightly about the rabbit's ears as he dragged him. She cried out, falling back from the window and down on to her bed, bringing Flaky down with her. They huddled together, crying and staring in fear at the bedroom door as they awaited the inevitable.

They heard the front door splintering and could hear Cuddles clearly now, as well as Flippy's sorrow laugh.

"-Please Flippy!" Cuddles was screaming. "Let me go! Please don't hurt me or Petunia! Please-…"

He was cut off as the bedroom door burst into shards of wood and there stood the blood stained bear, breathing heavily and laughing, his evil eyes shining. He lifted Cuddles up into the air, hanging him right in front of himself, as though to let the rabbit see who he'd really come for. Cuddles had several cuts and bruises, as well as scrap marks from the drag, and a couple of his fingers and toes appeared broken.

The rabbit stared at the two girls in horror, but mostly surprise at seeing Flaky there.

"No Flippy!" he shouted. "It wasn't her fault! Don't hurt her!"

"Flippy! Please!" Flaky was crying.

Petunia remained silent in stupified terror. Evil dropped Cuddles at his feet and kicked him. Cuddles cried out, squirming across the floor to the foot of the bed, where he braced himself against the wood. Evil pulled a ballistics knife out of his jacket and finally a scream erupted from Petunia. Evil laughed cruel as he flipped it to down position and rubbed his thumb up and down the texture of the handle.

He moved quickly and without warning, giving Cuddles only a few milliseconds to try and scramble up the bed before the monster was upon him. Flippy grabbed his shoulder with his left hand and dug the knife into Cuddles' back, just below his collar bone. Cuddles screamed and tried to get away, but Evil pressed his body against the rabbit to hold him still. He began cutting across to the other shoulder, leaving a ragged laceration in the flesh that seemed to burn with fire as the two girls stared at it and screamed.

Evil shifted his hand around Cuddles' neck and the rabbit began choking as his air was cut off. The blood began to flow out faster as he coughed, and Evil gave a well delivered strike to the spine which caused the red fluid to spray from the wound. Cuddles was crying out in agony for a few seconds before slowly becoming still, his blood loss causing him to slowly fade away. Both girls were crying hysterically. Evil laughed at their fear and began digging inside of the fading rabbit. Flaky watched in horror as the bear ripped out the pumping heart.

His eyes narrowed in anger and he shoved the heart into Flaky's face, crushing it in his paw. Flaky was showered in gore; her last bits of sanity were beginning to fade when Evil began crying out. They stared in confusion for a moment before they realized that a red ribbon was about his throat and two pink paws were pulling it. Evil's eyes widened as he coughed and gasped, finally falling to his knees. Giggles was behind him, pulling the ribbon as hard as she could, tightening it with a knot. Evil continued to gasp until he finally fell, facedown. Giggles continued to pull the ribbon for a few moments before finally letting go and gasping as she fell to her paws and knees beside the body.

Petunia and Flaky stayed huddled on the bed, crying their eyes out. After the adrenaline subsided, Giggles began to cry as well.

* * *

Night time was swift and the three girls stayed huddled in bed until about twelve' o'clock. Petunia was not sure she forgave Giggles, but she was alright with holding the pink chipmunk for the moment. Flaky seemed to have taken it the hardest. It was hours before they finally convinced her it was not her fault, and she was still crying even after. But at fifteen past midnight, their fears renewed because they knew that Flippy and Cuddles had both regenerated by now, and fresh tears were shed.

But at five in the morning and still no sign of either of the boys, they were beginning to calm down. And then this was crushed as they heard a knock at the outside of the house. They knew it couldn't be Flippy, since he would have charged in but the fear grew that it was Cuddles. But as the two figures emerged into the room, they saw it was Handy and Toothy. Both boys turned wide eyed as they saw the three girls, as well as the bodies of Cuddles and Flippy.

"A-are we interrupting something?" Toothy said with a voice crack like a teenage boy.

Despite the fact that they were horrified by the dead bodies, both boys had a small suspicion that something else was going on or had gone on.

"N-no…" Giggles said. "Flippy flipped on us…"

Toothy knelt beside Cuddles, checking the mangled body and then Flippy's.

"Who killed Flippy?" Toothy asked.

"M-me…" Giggles replied. "There was no other way."

"I don't know about that." Handy said, just audibly as he looked at the chipmunk in disdain.

The three girls could already tell where Handy's loyalties were as he eyed them. Giggles sighed a heavy, tear filled sigh.

"Please Handy, give me a-…"

"Chance?" Handy finished. "Like you gave Cuddles?"

"That's not the same thing." Giggles said defensively.

"It never is, is it?" Handy spat, turning to Toothy. "I'll go find Cuddles."

"Why?" Toothy asked.

"I need to talk to him, and we need to get rid of certain details here." He said the last part with a glare at Giggles before leaving.

Toothy sighed.

"Thanks for being on my side, Toothy." Giggles said with a weak smile.

"I never said I was." Toothy said.

Giggles' smile faded.

"But I do need to talk to you Petunia, and maybe the other two would like to hear about this."

"What?" The skunk asked.

"What happened with you and Cuddles two days ago?"

"What are you talking about?" Petunia asked nervously.

"He came over here a few mornings ago; we need to know what went on." Toothy said.

Giggles backed away from Petunia. Her eyes were angry and dark but not towards her friend.

"What did he do to Petunia?" Giggles asked.

"He didn't do anything!" Petunia said. "We just talked about his 'plan'. You know it Toothy."

"His what?" Toothy asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"He didn't tell you?" Petunia gasped.

"No."

"Well… he… he's leaving…" Petunia murmured. "Tomorrow night…"

* * *

***Gasp* I bet none of you saw that coming! Actually it was probably out there from a mile away. Sorry for losing subtly. Please review.**


	7. Chapter 6: Winter Weather

**Next supporter who gets a thank you: "deadliving". I appreciate it!**

SUGAR COATED POISON

BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON

Amour Amour  
Alle wollen nur dich zähmen  
Amour Amour am Ende  
gefangen zwischen deinen Zähnen

(Amour Amour  
Everyone just wants to tame you  
Amour Amour in the end  
caught between your teeth)

-_Amour _by Rammstein

* * *

CHAPTER SIX: WINTER WEATHER

Keep running, keep running, city to city  
Even if you're innocent  
You can cause too much embarrassment  
And though your heart is aching,  
And you know there's no mistaking

-_Just a Job to Do _by Genesis

The sun beat through the glass of the window as Giggles stared down at the small frame in her paws. She looked up toward Mime, Handy, Toothy, Flaky, and Petunia and they all nodded as one to her. She sighed a shaky sigh, her heart was beating quickly and sweat was in her fur. She reached forward and dialed the phone, then put it on speaker. They could hear the solemn rings as no one answered. Finally the answering machine:

"Hey, you know who it is. If I'm not at the phone, I'm either about to prank you with my good buddy Toothy or getting luckier than you with my girlfriend Giggles…"

Giggles cut off the call.

"He kept it…" She whispered.

"You were supposed to talk to him." Petunia sighed.

"He kept the ring we made…" She said, remembering the last half of it was her talking about her "baby" Cuddles.

"Giggles!" Petunia shouted, snapping in front of the chipmunk's face.

She snapped out of it and looked at Petunia with teary eyes. She was shaking and wasn't sure what to do. She felt that she might forgive Cuddles, but she also felt she owed him a _very _small apology for the accusation.

"I got cold feet." She sighed.

"He's going to leave you behind. Do you want him to?"

"No, but…"

"Giggles," Toothy said. "You need to choose your battles. Standing on your principles now may feel right, but when he's gone, he's never coming back and you'll regret that for the rest of your life. All it takes is a small apology."

"But he needs to apologize!" Giggles shouted, but received a stern look from Petunia and sighed, looking down at her feet. "He needs to apologize, _too_."

"Whatever the case," Toothy sighed. "We need to fix this."

"Why are all of you here with me?" She asked. "Couldn't you persuade Cuddles to call me?"

"You need to apologize before he does." Petunia said.

"Why do I have to?" Giggles shouted.

"Because he won't say it unless you do."

The skunk could already tell that this was hopeless, as could Toothy, Handy, and Flaky. The chipmunk refused to budge, despite the fact that it did not matter who apologized first. Of course, it could also be Cuddles, but he was the same way.

"I can see why these two make such a great pair," Handy whispered to Toothy. "They're both too damn stubborn."

Toothy snickered a little but silenced himself.

"Then this is never going to be fixed and he'll leave you behind." Petunia said.

"No, no, no," Giggles said. "I'm leaving him behind. If he wants to give up on someone like me, then he can, but he's the one giving up, not me. I'll stand here and turn my back if he doesn't do as he should."

"Forcing someone to submit to you, and trying to control them is a disorder, Giggles." Toothy said. "You would be known as a sociopath."

When replied to by blank stares, Toothy blushed a little and scratched the back of his head.

"I've been having Sniffles educate me on these sorts of things."

"I'm not a socio… whatever… I'm merely trying to take my half of the relationship." Giggles said, defiantly.

"By controlling his half?" Flaky spoke up.

Giggles thought for a moment, but had no retort to this. Instead she just crossed her arms and shut her eyes.

"He's apologizing first." She said.

Petunia palmed her face, and sighed. She turned to her friends and led them into the other room.

"So she's obliviously not going to go first. Toothy? Any chance Cuddles would?"

"Not a one," He said. "He has to much pride for that."

"They'd both have a lot more if they just apologized." Flaky said.

"Do you think we could trick the other into the thinking they had apologized?" Toothy asked.

"Hmmm…" Petunia mused. "You may be on to something, Toothy."

* * *

Petunia knocked on the door twice before stepping back and waiting for a reply. The door opened quickly and there stood the yellow rabbit, rubbing his eyes and looking around blearily.

"What time is it?" He asked.

"Three in the afternoon." Handy reported.

"Damn, that stuff makes me sleepy." He said, moving aside for them to come in.

"You're not taking the drug again, are you?" Petunia asked.

"No but I got a depression medication." He said.

"A depression med?" They all asked in slight surprise.

"Yeah," He said. "I'm going to miss it around here."

"Petunia hasn't filled us in on the details," Toothy said, sitting beside his best friend. "Why are you leaving, where are you going, and when are you coming back?"

"For the time being, it will be safe to say no to all your questions."

"Why?"

"Because it is something I would rather not talk about."

"Then how will we come to visit?" Toothy asked.

"You won't," Cuddles said, solemnly. "So what do you guys need?"

"Well… we came to give you this." Petunia said, handing him a tape recorder.

"Gee… thanks?" He said, looking up in confusion.

"Giggles was too embarrassed by her actions to tell you in person what this tape recorder says."

Cuddles looked down at it for a moment, and suddenly he seemed more alert and a little happier. He taped the play button.

"_Cuddles… I know we had this whole big fight and everything, but I hope this will end it. I want to apologize for calling you a thief, and for continually accusing you of cheating. I know now that his love is worth more than anything else in the world."_

Cuddles seemed as though he was about to cry for a moment and then dropped the tape recorder and stood up. They looked at him hopefully and he looked back for a moment then crossed his arms.

"Look guys, I appreciate that you want to get me back together with Giggles, but for one thing you're going to have to do better than that." He said.

"What do you mean?" Toothy asked.

"You recorded that from different bits of things Giggles said. While it may sound like she's apologizing, you just pieced together her talking. It was almost perfect but "I know now that _his _love" was your slip up."

"We-…" Petunia began but fell silent.

They were all speechless as they stared at the rabbit. They weren't sure if he was clever, stubborn, or some combination of the two.

"Second of all, has it occurred to you guys that I may have already arranged my leave, and that I may not want to love Giggles anymore?"

He walked over to the door and opened it.

"Now, I must ask you guys to leave." He said.

* * *

Toothy sat with his paws clasped so tightly together, they were aching and sweating. He stared down at the picture everyone was looking at in a sort of farewell. A yellow rabbit smiled at them as they stared at him.

* * *

**Please review.**


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